Through the Open Door
by darkrunner
Summary: Kaiba didn't care about the other duelists. But the door was open, and he was curious. If I ever write another puppyshipping, I'll spontaneously combust. Puppyshipping KaibaJou for contest.


A/N: You will never see me writing this pairing again for as long as I live. Puppyshipping is THE anti-polar. Polar is my favorite. Therefore, I don't like puppy. (The pages upon pages of puppy doujinshi scans that I've seen while looking for polar backgrounds don't help much either.)

I've actually had this plotbunny (or shall we call it a plotpuppy?) for a really long time, just it was never even remotely close to puppyshipping. In my mind it still isn't puppyshipping, because if I ever even contemplated the fact that I wrote puppyshipping, I would spontaneously combust.

Takes place after Jou's dream about Mai, and before the get to the virtual world. It can work in manga-verse, but I was going on the idea that Jou "couldn't sleep" because of his dream about Mai.

Rating: A couple of bad words. PGish.

Disclaimer: If I owned Yugioh, I could just tell you that the pairing wasn't canon and laugh in your faces. As it is, I am a fan, and I have been charged with the task of writing this pairing.

* * *

There were very few times in the day when anyone actually saw Seto Kaiba sleeping. How he functioned was anyone's guess, but he never showed weakness if he could help it. Whether or not anyone was actually there to see him didn't matter in the slightest. So, when he finished studying the Winged Dragon of Ra sometime after midnight, sleeping wasn't exactly his first priority.

Kaiba stood up and stretched his arms a bit. His eyes hurt from staring at the computer screen for so long. Mokuba was sleeping peacefully, curled under his jacket, so he left it and decided to go back to his own room on the Battle Ship.

It was strangely quiet at night on the Battle Ship. The earlier sounds of people had died down, and Kaiba's footsteps echoed eerily. Not that it matterd to him. He didn't spend time paying attention to insignificant thing like noises on a ship. Except now, apparently.

He glanced at the numbers on the closed doors as they passed. No doubt the remaining duelists were all asleep, preparing for the next duels. Has the ship not been completely deserted and his mind numb from studying the strongest monster on the face of the planet Kaiba wouldn't have given it a first thought, let alone a second. Useless thoughts like those were better un-thought. They just wasted his time. He wouldn't have thought any more about the other duelists on the ship, but then an open door caught his eye. Even though he would much rather have nothing to do with anyone else on the ship, Kaiba looked up to read the number anyway. 6... his footsteps slowed, as his mind flashed to Ra. One phrase in particular drifted through his mind. _"The enemies of Ra shall fall to earth..."_

_Kujaku Mai_. He thought, stepping hesitantly towards the doorway. _But why would the door be open...?_ The thought of why he was actually taking the time to care nagged at the back of his mind, but he pushed it aside for curiosity's sake. At least that's what he told himself. If she had revived after being struck by god, he wanted to see that for himself.

But as he entered the dark room, everything was as it had been. Mai was still lying unconcious in her bed. Kaiba silently marveled--somewhat sadistically--at the power of the sun god. Her face was drawn in pain--as though something was still hurting her, the effects of Ra lasting even into her coma. Kaiba smirked at the thought of being the one to destroy the Egyptian god.

His curiosity satisfied, Kaiba turned to leave the room. The door was still stuck open, instead of closing automaticaly behind him like it should have. It must've been like that since Yugi and the rest had left the room, he figured. He had every intention of going to his room and looking over his deck again when something stirred behind him.

The first thought that popped into his head was that the woman had miracuously recovred in the two seconds he'd turned away. Kaiba whirled around, but Mai was still lying comatose in the bed. So what...? He scanned the dark room. Behind him, the door slid shut. He made a mental note to get it fixed when he figured out what the hell was going on. The light from the hallway was immediately extinguished, leaving nothing but the moonlight. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the silvery glow. He took a step forward to try and get a better look at the far side of the room. He KNEW he heard something.

"Mmrgh.. who's there?" someone muttered sleepily. Kaiba turned towards the sound just in time to see Jounouchi lifting his head.

"Bonkotsu," Kaiba replied icily. Jounouchi yawned. He had been dozing in a chair in the corner of the room. Kaiba hadn't seen him when he had come in.

"What're you... it's not morning, is it?" Jounouchi asked, leaning back in his chair.

"No," Kaiba said curtly. Leaving would have been the easiest option for Kaiba, but somehow it didn't feel right. Instead he just stood dumbly at the foot of the bed, staring at Jounouchi as he closed his eyes again. His breathing slowed, and Kaiba thought he had fallen asleep again when his head snapped up.

"Dammit," he grumbled, getting out of the chair, apparently unable to sleep. "You woke me up, you know that?" He shuffled across the room to the window. Kaiba stayed where he was.

"What were you doing here in the first place?" Kaiba asked accusingly. It wasn't his fault that the stupid average duelist had been in some random room in the middle of the night.

"...Couldn't sleep," Jounouchi said after a brief pause. Kaiba scoffed at the obvious lie.

"Because you don't look tired at all," he said sarcastically. Jou yawned, as if to add to his point. He glared through heavy-lidded eyes at Kaiba.

"Shut up," Jounouchi muttered half-heartedly, turning back towards him--or more accurately, towards Mai. He went right up to the side of the bed, never taking his eyes off of her. kaiba watched Jou's face. His expression had softened considerably. Kaiba rolled his eyes, but Jou didn't notice.

"You just going to stand there?" Kaiba said after several minutes of watching the both of them.

"Thought I told you to shut up," Jounouchi replied with a little more energy this time. "None of your business where I'm standing."

"So you're just going to stand there all night," Kaiba said, ignoring him completely.

"Now that I'm awake, probably," Jou shot back.

"Even though you have to duel tomorrow?"

"Someone's gotta watch Mai--!" He was on the verge of shouting, but caught himself. Glancing at the floor, he turned away from Kaiba and stared out the window again. "Just forget it."

"Never seen you like this, bonkotsu," Kaiba said casually. Jou glanced over his shoulder. "Usually you can't stop grinning like an idiot, or blabbering on about your friendship, or something equally annoying."

"What do you care?" Jounouchi growled.

"Don't flatter yourself," Kaiba said. "I don't. Just thought you'd like to know how obvious you're being about this whole thing." Stupid, average duelist. This was why kaiba didn't bother thinking about anyone else. It was just another thing to be used against him.

"Bastard," Jou spat. "Why don't you go back to your own room and sleep or something?"

"I don't need to sleep," Kaiba said smugly.

"Just like I'm not tired."

"Why don't you go back to YOUR room?" Kaiba asked.

"What're you doing in here, anyway?" Jounouchi said, ignoring his question. "You don't care about Mai."

"And you do?" Kaiba asked. Jounouchi blushed furiously and glanced at the floor.

"I didn't say that--" the blond duelist stammered. Kaiba smirked. Bonkotsu.

"You're so easy," Kaiba said. "I could just mention her, and you'd lose the duel."

"I won't be dueling you," Jounouchi said in a low voice. Kaiba didn't notice how hostile the other's voice had just become.

"Damn right," Kaiba said. "I don't see why I'd waste my duel--"

"I'm dueling Malik."

Kaiba actually stopped talking mid-sentence. It wasn't that it was such a shocking idea--Kaiba himself wanted to duel Yugi, and was planning on the bonkotsu dueling Malik. He had no idea who Jounouchi WANTED to duel, but Malik definitely wouldn't have been his first guess. That alone still wouldn't have been that surprising, but the way Jounouchi said it... he glared fiercly at Kaiba now, challenging him to get in his way. Kaiba narrowed his eyes, his expression hardening.

"What makes you think a scrub duelist like you can challenge _god_?" Kaiba emphasized the last word. "Why would a duelist like you _want_ to challenge god?"

"Doesn't matter what he's got," Jounouchi said. "I have to win."

Kaiba laughed. "You'll die."

Jounouchi glanced at Mai, then looked up at Kaiba again.

"No," he said, but shakily. Kaiba's laughter died. That wasn't the 'no' of someone who arrogantly refused to believe in their own mortality. Jounouchi knew full well what could happen to him, and he was _afraid_ of it. Kaiba had seen the scrub duelist act like an idiot, seen him laughing and crying. He'd seen him win duels and lose them. Heck, he'd watched him almost kill his best friend and himself in the process. He'd never seen him fear anything before. He briefly wondered what things would be like if the fool really DID die, and felt a twinge of an something he hadn't felt in a long time. He tried to push the thought to the back of his mind. So many useless thoughts he'd been thinking today...

Jounouchi glanced up at Kaiba, who was still staring at him uncharacteristically.

"What're you looking at?" he growled. Kaiba resumed his usual cold expression.

"I'll look wherever I damn well--" Kaiba broke off suddenly and yawned loudly. Jounouchi smirked.

"You gettin' tired, Mr. 'I-don't-need-any-sleep'?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes at the idiotic insult. But the bonkotsu was right. Apparently he was tired. As much as he didn't want to, Kaiba got up out of the chair.

"That's right, I'm tired. So I'm going to go sleep, instead of a certain bonkotsu I know who thought it'd be a good idea to wait up all night for no apparent reason so he can lose his duel tomorrow. Though, I guess in your case, it wouldn't matter much, would it?"

"Kisama," Jou muttered.

"Bonkotsu," Kaiba said smugly, exiting the room. Jounouchi watched the door open, and the yellow hallway light flood the dim room. Kaiba's shadow stretched out on the floor, the light filtering in around him. He lowered his hand from the door switch, about to leave, when Jounouchi called to him.

"Hey..." Jou said hesitantly. Kaiba paused, his foot in the doorway. "Why'd you come in here, anyway?"

Kaiba hesitated, glancing over his shoulder at Jou.

"The door was open."

* * *

Bonkotsu - Mediocre, Average, Kaiba's nickname for Jou.

Kisama - A very rude way to say "you", roughly translates to "bastard".

A/N: I was really close to doing the cliched ending where Kaiba offers to sit with Mai so Jou can sleep. Reeeallly close. And then my inner editor kicked in and screamed "KAIBA WOULDN'T DO THAT!" while my inner polarshipper had a seizure from the thought of puppy, so I had to cut it. Also... as much as I hate to admit it... that was kind of fun to write. About the "Kaiba doesn't sleep in front of people" bit: He was supposed to fall asleep while waiting with Jou. But... I couldn't do it. Too OOC.

Also, I need to mention how incredibly ironic it is that this fic focuses on Kaiba, the character I usually write the most out-of-character.


End file.
